Poll: Trump Leads In Nevada, South Carolina by Double Digits

Isaac Brekken/Getty Images14 Oct 2015

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump is leading his nearest competition in the Republican presidential primary by double-digit margins in Nevada and South Carolina, both early voting states, a new CNN/ORC poll revealed Wednesday.

In Nevada, Trump boasted support from 38 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. Ben Carson placed second with 22 percent followed by Carly Fiorina with 8 percent, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) with 7 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush came in fifth among Silver State Republicans with 6 percent, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former Arkansas Gov. with 4 percent. The rest of the field polled at two percent or less.

Among likely Republican voters in South Carolina, Trump garnered 36 percent of the vote followed by Carson at 18 percent.

Rubio placed third in South Carolina with 9 percent of the vote, followed by Fiorina with 7 percent, Bush at 6 percent, Cruz and Graham at 5 percent, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) at 4 percent, and Huckabee came in ninth with 3 percent of the vote. The rest of the field received two percent of the vote or less.

The anti-establishment combination of Trump and Carson won 60 percent in Nevada and 54 percent in South Carolina.

In both states, Trump was also seen as the best candidate to handle nearly every issue including the economy, foreign policy, illegal immigration, social issues, and ISIS. The only issue in which Trump placed second was in South Carolina on social issues, in that instance Ben Carson placed first.

Trump also led the field in electability, ability to change how Washington works, representing the values of Republicans, and understanding the problems facing “people like you.”

The CNN/ORC polls of 1,009 South Carolina adults and 1,011 Nevada adults were conducted from October 3-10. A total of 521 South Carolina adults said they were likely to vote in the GOP primary and 285 Nevada adults said they were likely to participate in the Nevada caucus. The results among Palmetto State voters have a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points, Nevada caucus goer results have a margin of error of +/- 6 percentage points.